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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade held every Thanksgiving Day in New York City in the United States. It is organized by the Macy's department store. Originally called the Macy's Christmas Parade, it was first held in 1924 and has been cancelled only twice due to rubber shortages during World War II. The two and a half mile parade features large balloons of well-known characters alongside floats and marching bands, ending with a float of Santa Claus upon his sleigh, marking the start of the Christmas season. It is televised on NBC and CBS. Due to a deal that NBC has as the authorized broadcaster of the parade, CBS is not permitted to use the Macy's name in its coverage of the event. References to Peanuts Snoopy balloons In 1968, A balloon of Snoopy in his World War I Flying Ace persona known as "Aviator Snoopy" debuted. The balloon was a large basic recreation of the character wearing his green helmet with goggles. The balloon however lacked his red scarf, due to the fact a large "Leech" was on the front of the balloon. In 1969, the balloon was redesigned to become an Astronaut. This design, made to celebrate Apollo 11, featured the character wearing a blue helmet made to resemble an astronaut's helmet, blue boots, a backpack, and a red line on his white coat. This version of the balloon was used until the 1977 parade (The balloon missed the 1971 and 1975, the former was due to very high winds and rain which grounded all the balloons and the latter being a deflation with tree branches due to high winds and rain). In 1978, the balloon was changed back into the "Aviator" design, which was used until 1982 (Skipping the 1980 parade due to the balloon's leg breaking from a shard of glass before the parade starting, which in 1981 the balloon had a visible gray patch on the leg). The balloon returned again in 1985, holding onto a list depicting Good Boys and Girls. In 1987, a new Snoopy design debuted, and was the first to use the character's modern design. This version was based on his World Famous Skater persona. Snoopy wore a Stocking Hat with "Macy's" on the bottom, a scarf and Ice Skates, all being in red with green stripes. This balloon was made to tie-in with a plush toy that was exclusively sold in Macy's stores for that year's holiday season. In 1988, the balloon was redesigned. Snoopy now wears a red Macy's Christmas Jumper with snowflakes, a white scarf with green stripes and retains the red ice skates. The new addition to the balloon that year was a smaller balloon of Woodstock. For the balloon's first three years (Actually two, as Snoopy didn't fly in 1989 due to the balloon deflating before the parade starting), an NBC camera was placed inside the balloon. The balloon remained flying in the parade until 1995, as an accident caused the balloon's muzzle to deflate to the point of it being irreparable. In 1999, a new Snoopy balloon debuted to celebrate the new millennium of 2000, which was appropriately called "Millennium Snoopy". This balloon featured Snoopy laying down, wearing a Yellow/Blue/Green/Purple Jester's Hat and blowing on a horn reading "Macy's 2000". In 2001, the horn was changed to "Macy's 75th Parade" to celebrate the occasion. This was the final year the balloon was used before retiring. In 2006, an all new design debuted. Like with the first balloon, this one, titled "Snoopy as the Flying Ace" was more accurate to what merchandise of Snoopy in the persona looks like nowadays. Snoopy had a brown helmet with goggles, the red scarf and was holding a set of binoculars, with his eyes closed but lacking eyebrows. This balloon appeared in the parade until 2011. In 2013, the seventh design of the character debuted. The balloon featured Snoopy laying down on his front with Woodstock on top of his head. This design appeared until 2015. In 2019, a new Astronaut Snoopy design was announced to appear for that year's parade, made to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11. This design features Snoopy wearing an orange Astronaut suit, similar to what merchendise of Astronaut Snoopy looks like today. Charlie Brown balloons Charlie Brown first appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2002. The balloon depicts Charlie Brown chasing the Football that Lucy uses in the Football gag. The balloon was used in the parade until 2005, but made a return in 2012, complete with the balloon to replace the warn-out Flying Ace balloon. The balloon was also used for a convention in 2015, but lacking the football. In 2016, an all new Charlie Brown balloon debuted, depicting him trying to fly his kite, but getting the string all tangled up on himself. This balloon would appear until 2018. Floats The Peanuts franchise has been represented in various floats throughout the years: * In 1967, a float made to promote You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown debuted in the parade. It featured Charlie Brown, Lucy van Pelt and Linus van Pelt as large wooden carvings near Snoopy's Dog House. Cast members of said musical also appeared on the float. The float reappeared in 1968, leading away for the new Aviator Snoopy balloon that debuted that year. * In 1983 and 1984, a United Media sponsored float depicting "America's Comic Stars" appeared in the parade. The float featured costumed characters of various characters, including a walk-around Snoopy sitting on the clouds on his doghouse, with Woodstock next to him. * From 1987-1989, walk-arounds of Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus appeared on an Ice Skating float, alongside Charles M. Schulz's daughter Jill Schulz. * In 2002, Snoopy appeared on the Pep Rally float, which appeared after the Charlie Brown balloon. * in 2006, a new float debuted, depicting Snoopy's Doghouse again. walk-arounds of Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus stood on the float waving to the crowd, while a carving of Woodstock stands on the top holding flags to give the Snoopy balloon a "Safe Landing". It was retired in 2012, where in it's final appearance the walk-around Snoopy replaced Charlie Brown, as the latter was already a balloon. * in 2019, the Snoopy's Doghouse float returned. It preceded the Astronaut Snoopy balloon and featured Woodstock standing on top of the doghouse looking through a telescope into space. Astronauts Janet L. Kavandi and Kay Hire also appeared on the float. Gallery 1. Aviator Snoopy.jpg|Aviator Snoopy in the 1979 parade. 2. Astronaut Snoopy.jpg|Astronaut Snoopy. 3. Snoopy on Skates.jpg|Snoopy on skates in the 1987 parade. 4. Winter SNoopy.jpg|Snoopy and Woodstock in the 1988 parade. 5. Millenium Snoopy.jpg|Millennium Snoopy in the 1999 parade. 6. Snoopy as the Flying Ace.jpg|Snoopy as the Flying Ace. 8. Astronaut Snoopy.png|thumb|the 2019 Astronaut Snoopy in his test flight. Charlie Brown parade balloon.jpg|Charlie Brown's second balloon design in the 2016 parade. Category:Mentions and references Category:Thanksgiving Category:Branding and merchandise